Monday, August 24, 2015

If you boil down my public relations portfolio to three types of clients, the triumvirate includes, in no particular order, arts, Olympics and theme parks (more broadly "attractions").

From time to time there are overlaps among these genres of business.

Olympics meets arts at the Cultural Olympiad. Or theme parks coincide with the Games as sports venues become attractions (like Beijing's Water Cube turned water park), or new destinations are born around an Olympiad (the new-in-2014 Sochi World theme park, for instance).

But unless you count art museums as attractions -- as my client International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) does for their membership base of permanently-affixed destinations for fun and learning -- it's less common for the news cycle to blend theme parks and the arts.

And that's not all that's uncommon about the new art installation titled Dismaland now open on the west coast of England.

In case you haven't read the reports and seen the videos or photo galleries, Dismaland is perhaps the world's first 'bemusement park' now open in Weston-super-Mare, a coastal town three hours from London by train.

Dismaland is presented by the artist Banksy, who recruited a few dozen other modern and contemporary artists for his secret-until-last-week installation at an abandoned beach side pool attraction named the Tropicana.

While the Weston-super-Mare locals were told a movie production would take over the abandoned Tropicana for a feature film setting, Banksy & Co. quietly assembled numerous rides and experiences inside its walls.

A wave of publicity began around August 18 as external signage and black flags went up, and by last Friday several global news outlets carried the story of Dismaland's opening weekend.

The installation remains in operation through much of September.

Banksy has some major league art friends. Two favorite names -- Damien Hirst and Jenny Holzer -- leaped off the screen when my friend Brian first told me of early Dismaland reports in the Wall Street Journal.

A look at the complete list of artists yields a who's who compilation of known or rising stars of modern and contemporary artists, skewing heavy on the cynical scale through their conversation piece (and critically acclaimed, bold and unforgettable) creations.

I fell in love with Holzer's work at her Walker Arts Center installation in Minneapolis in 1991, on my
first 'adult' visit to a museum during the autumn of my college freshman year.

She had me at Truismsand her carved benches at the High Museum of Art (a client from time to time) and other museums always make me smile.

Something about a bovine head decomposing in a fly-filled glass box, or a great white shark encased in jello, or a live butterfly room followed by several canvases made from tens of thousands of butterfly wings, not surprisingly stays with the museum visitor.

Hirst's anatomically correct (inside and out) carvings of male and female medical school models, and gazillion-dollar diamond-encrusted skulls, also made an impression.

Banksy's Oscar-nominated documentary film "Exit Through The Gift Shop" introduced me to his work -- then mostly a distinctive graffiti or tagging pieces -- making me an instant fan.

Banksy's Olympic street art intrigued me on the lead up to London 2012 (though I never did find any of it in person, likely due to collectors' theft or authority figures covering up Banksy's handiwork).

In the documentary, Banksy and a filmmaker accomplice embarked on a mission to install a temporary work of art -- an inflatable 'Guantanamo Bay prisoner' -- inside a fenced ride area of Disneyland. After purchasing tickets and making their way through the Happiest Place On Earth, Banksy did successfully deploy the smuggled work while cameras rolled.

It's safe to say Disneyland's security team was not amused.

According to the documentary narration, "While Banksy went on the rides, [the filmmaker] was introduced to a different side of the Magic Kingdom."

I won't spoil the film by revealing details of that experience, but it's a solid bet the shared adventure and its outcome planted many seeds for today's Dismaland, and last week's installation opening may be the result of more than five years of planning.

And, oh what bemusements await Dismaland visitors!

Outdoor highlights (er, lowlights) spotted online so far include:

Entry queues for several hundred ticket holders (with wait times authentic to many theme park experiences), after which guests are curtly greeted by black and white-clad security guards and signs banning everything from weapons to underwear

One Shamu-like orca leaping from a toilet toward an awaiting trainer's hoop

A park bench on which a woman is swarmed, Hitchcock-style, by attacking seagulls

Midway games including 'Topple the Anvil' (featuring the metal tools straight out of Looney Toons' Coyote and Road Runner episodes), and 'Hook the Duck' at which players attempt to rescue petroleum-covered rubber duckies from an oil spill (hint: the hooks are mismatched for an impossible latch)

More oil spill adventures on an unplayable golf putting green nicknamed "Mini Gulf" (the top half of the "o" rusted and broke off)

A not-so-merry-go-round carousel ridden by protesters and a knife-wielding purveyor of lasagna

The most shocking work of Dismaland may be Cinderella's overturned golden carriage featuring a dying princess hanging out of the crashed vehicle, illuminated only by the strobe flashes of paparazzi cameras.

With the approaching anniversary of Princess Diana's fatal crash in Paris, this work is bound to remain a conversation piece (it takes one's breath away).

Looking at the actual rides installed at Dismaland with some knowledge of what buyers seek at IAAPA Attractions Expo each November, I cannot help wondering whether Banksy or any of the other artists attended the trade show in Orlando in recent years.

After all, some IAAPA member ride manufacturers likely provided the customized carousel, space ride (made to look like a camping trailer gone off its hitch), miniature Ferris wheel, the aforementioned bumper cars and other on-site thrills. What remains unclear is whether paying customers are allowed on the rides (for safety's sake, I hope if rides are permitted then operator protocols are in place).

I've been pricing flights to London and train tickets to Weston-super-Mare and for about $1,800 for a five-day journey from Atlanta, a trek to Dismaland my be slightly out of my budget. But then again, a week in Orange County, California, might be about the same range, right?

Since Dismaland includes its own signs instructing everyone to "Exit Through The Gift Shop" one might expect an expensive glossy catalog may soon be available as an alternative. Consider this blogger delightfully Banksy-bemused.

Most photos via Reuters except the Damien Hirst image at Tate Modern photo by Nicholas Wolaver

FloatBalls are a new, spherical watercraft topped with a windowed dome reminiscent of a golf umbrella. Inside the 12- to 15-foot-wide vehicle, passengers find a dedicated captain, plush cushioned seats, flat-screen televisions, Wi-Fi access and refreshments, creating a luxurious and floating living room.

When deployed into a large body of water, such as Lagoa Rodriogo de Freitas (in Rio's Copacabana venue cluster), FloatBalls resemble European footballs or soccer balls accidentally kicked into a pond. The boat's electric engine is eco-friendly and quiet.

On the heels of the Florida opening, FloatBall exhibited at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2014 in Orlando, the global convention and trade show of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), a long-time public relations client of this blogger.

I spent a few minutes talking with FloatBall CEO Giovanni Luigi in the company's outdoor booth, where one of the Miami-style FloatBall boats was on view. Though he would not reveal which Rio Olympic sponsor(s) may engage FloatBall for their Games-time activation, he said it was a safe bet that rowing and canoe spectators would see FloatBalls charting a course near Lagoa Stadium.

"Some special guests may watch competitions in a FloatBall," said Luigi.

It was unclear what sponsor activation(s) may be possible in the waters surrounding Barra Olympic Park, the heart of the Games on the north shore of Lagoa de Jacarepagua. Luigi said Olympic security topics were a big part of the Rio Olympic FloatBall negotiations, but he remained confident any hurdles could be cleared.

"It will be a fun experience of Rio," Luigi added.

First image via FloatBall, second image via FalandodeViagem.com.br. All other photos by Nicholas Wolaver.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

One of ABC's better known Olympic commentators of the 1970's and 1980's, Frank Gifford, died today in his home in Connecticut, according to published reports.

Gifford is one of those Olympic correspondents who provided on air reports with consistent skill and strength but for fewer iconic moments like those of Jim McKay or Al Michaels.

I recall Gifford's voice on the 1972 Olympic basketball gold medal match during which the Soviet Union and Team USA squads shared a controversial ending. Sure enough, several pages of Howard Cosell's 1973 autobiography "Cosell by Cosell" feature the author's interactions with Gifford as he worked with officials to file the protest of the Soviet victory.

According to Cosell, "Gifford had done one hell of a job in staying on top of the story from beginning to end."

Unfortunately Gifford's research and later segment with Cosell -- during which they did an interview with an official Olympic scorekeeper whom Gifford located during two sleepless days -- did not alter the outcome for the gold and silver medalists.

A quick online search also showed that Gifford provided Winter Olympic commentary from Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976 and in 1980 at Lake Placid, where he and wife Kathy Lee Gifford apparently hosted late night reports (according to a 2014 interview with Kathy Lee).

He also took on more prominent Olympic reporting duties during the Los Angeles Games of 1984, including a decathlon preview with gold medal decathletes Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce) and Bob Mathias in the studio.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

It hardly seems possible the Rio de Janiero Olympic Opening Ceremony will take place in just one year.

The night in Brazil on August 5, 2016, should be extraordinary.

Rio was not my first choice when the IOC named next year's hosts. Playing the 'what if' game is a losing proposition, but anyone who supported the Chicago Olympic bid likely can't help themselves from imagining the possibilities of the last six years every once in awhile. I thought I'd be married and working at AON Center while commuting from Milwaukee or other Chicago suburbs. But for the most part, my current situation pleases me, and optimism reigns for great things on the horizon.

Rio 2016 will present a magnificent party, and this writer can barely stand to wait to see things unfold during the next 365 days. My fingers and toes are crossed for a 'cake' volunteer assignment; my top three choices on the Brazil application: Olympic Village, Main Press Center and/or Torch Relay media duties.

I'm told my video interview got me through to the next stages, and it will be exciting to learn the potential assignment later in 2015.

It's been 10 years since my first visit to Rio, and it's fun to dream of new friendships and experiences to be realized. The challenge of finding temporary Olympic housing seems easier than London, and definitely easier than for Athens or Sochi.

Obrigado/thank you to many readers and supporters who helped this site achieve nearly 140,000 page views to date. Please share requests and ideas for what you'd like to read about in anticipation of Rio 2016. See you next year!

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A public relations executive by day, small-time eBayer by night and weekends, lifetime member of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and full-time Olympic enthusiast who also looks at "BoingBoing-style" unusual news with interest. Please e-mail me at olympiada@yahoo.com or if you can't get enough try my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/people/Nicholas_Wolaver/713593008